In August 2020 I released my 3rd book, Navigating Media Literacy: A Pedagogical Tour of Disneyland (Myers Education Press). My C+MRC intern interviewed me about what makes this book different from all the other books about Disney and why I think everyone outside (as well as inside) the Academy should read it. Here are excerpts from the […]
Media literacy has evolved to mean different things to different people. In its simplest form, it is a critical habit of mind or a way of approaching any mediated experience to discern how it shapes human understanding.
“Teen’s junk food diet caused boy to go blind.” “Even one diet soda a day may triple your risk for developing dementia.” “Dark chocolate may help prevent some forms of cancer.” These are just a few of the health news headlines (or click bait?) that we consume on a daily basis. But they rarely reflect […]
I am so excited to be a part of Right from the Start in the Digital Age launched by FHI 360 this week—during the inaugural Media Literacy Week in the United States. “Right from the Start” is a national initiative focusing on children in grades PreK-3. It aims to encourage good digital citizenship and to […]
This time of the year, many parents worry about their kids’ safety at school. Tragic and violent events, like those that occurred at Columbine High School more than a decade ago, or more recently at Sandy Hook Elementary School, have fueled intense public debate over the effects of media violence among children and within schools. […]
The good folks at the Family Online Safety Institute asked me to write a Back-to-School blogpost for their Digital Backpack series. What’s the one thing that I wish all parents and educators understood? That media literacy is much more than technological proficiency. In less than 800 words, I provide the ABCs of media literacy (Access. […]
Interested in joining me to learn more about media literacy & media use in the classroom? I am very excited about the eclectic program I’ve assembled of some of the best and brightest media literacy scholars, educators, practitioners, activists and artists around.
I recently crafted the blog healthyteens.us as an extension of the ideas in my new book, Healthy Teens, Healthy Schools. My goal is to create a collaboratory for ideas on how media literacy education in particular can cultivate healthy teens and healthy schools. I invite you to contribute. Here’s why: Widespread obesity, poor nutrition, sleep-deprivation, and highly digital and sedentary lifestyles are just a few […]
My second book, Healthy Teens, Healthy Schools: How Media Literacy Can Renew Education in the United States (in press, Rowman & Littlefield) is intended for educators across levels and contexts in the shared responsibility of building critical media health literacy among adolescents. While the topic of health in the U.S. is predominantly framed as an individual […]
After an interesting semester of online teaching both undergrad and graduate pre-service teachers, I am intrigued by the recent discourse on digital content curation. This emerging role intersects public relations, communication and media arts, information literacy, media literacy, news literacy (and others). Currently, curation is a highly relevant topic within my current role as teacher educator. When […]
In 2011, I wrote an article titled, “Building 21st-Century Teachers: An Intentional Pedagogy of Media Literacy Education” that was published in a special issue of Action in Teacher Education. The question I posed was, “Are we helping preservice teachers develop a repertoire of technical skills and pedagogical strategies in the service of democratic practice?” In […]
Who better to reflect on the 2/19/14 screening of “Eyes Wide Open: This is Media” than a media-savvy pre-service teacher in attendance? A special thanks to Melissa McHugh for her blogpost and also for live-tweeting the event. By Melissa McHugh | Graduate Student | Master of Arts in Teaching | Montclair State University Last week I […]
Thanks to a grant from the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) and pivot tv, Montclair State University‘s College of Education and Human Services hosted a free screening of the 22-minute documentary “Eyes Wide Open: This is Media” on Wednesday, February 19th in University Hall 1050. A panel of communication and education professionals discussed digital and […]
Last week 12 theater-goers were senselessly shot and killed and 58 others injured during a midnight premier of a popular Hollywood film in Aurora, Colorado. President Obama and leaders from across the world reached out with condolences to the victim’s families and a community and a nation once again stricken with grief and sadness. Those […]
School Video News interviewed Dr. Vanessa Domine at the 2009 National Association for Media Literacy Education Conference in Detroit. The interviewer is Eberly DeVault from School Video News.